Grand Rapids unveils $785 million preliminary FY27 budget, sets May hearings

City officials on April 28 presented a preliminary fiscal year 2027 plan that would allocate $785 million across city funds and $206.7 million for the general fund, while setting a May 12 public hearing and follow-up work sessions for commissioners to review specific items.

City Manager (speaker 7) described the budget as a “continuation of basic services” while directing targeted new investments, including more than $200 million in water, wastewater and stormwater work and roughly $125 million combined for police and fire. Manager said the package includes no new general-fund positions but does assume about 14 positions in enterprise funds (water, environmental services, parks and engineering) and two grant-funded positions that are not carried forward unless the commission decides otherwise.

Molly Claren, the city’s chief financial officer (speaker 11), said the administration proposes intentionally drawing down fund balance in the short term while bolstering a budget stabilization fund. The plan would transfer $7 million into that stabilization fund and still keep the city above policy targets in the near-term forecast. Claren summarized key revenue assumptions, including an income-tax forecast prepared with a Grand Valley State University model that estimates roughly 4.37% growth in FY27 and somewhat slower growth in subsequent years.

The presentation detailed capital and operating priorities: $200M+ for water/wastewater and stormwater, $48M for vital streets, $40M for parks and community services, $21M for refuse and recycling, and ongoing subsidy of the court (~$10M of the court’s $13M operating cost). The manager noted that $35M in grant leverage supports public-safety training and fire station work and that the city recently invested about $7 million in bonds issued by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

Commissioners pressed staff on several items: the expected uses and conditions attached to state road funding recently announced to the city; the governance and potential reallocation of late-fee revenues in regional utility agreements; ongoing public-safety trust fund timing; and the methodology behind the GVSU income-tax forecast. Claren and the manager said more detailed information will be provided at two scheduled work sessions (May 5 and May 12) and at the budget hearing on May 12, with adoption targeted for May 19.

The administration also flagged three items for later deliberation: the potential extension of a pilot program for enhanced commission support, the fate of two grant-funded positions, and a proposed $50,000 local disaster-relief fund. Claren reported remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds of about $5.6 million that must be obligated by December 2024 and spent by December 2026; staff said they expect those dollars to be committed by the end of the reporting quarter.

Procedural development: commissioners set a public hearing on the FY27 budget for May 12 and agreed to two work sessions to examine revenue assumptions, fee changes and capital investments. The administration emphasized it is not asking the commission to adopt the budget at this meeting but to begin deliberations.

What’s next: staff will provide supplemental materials requested by commissioners, including a deeper explanation of the GVSU income-tax forecast inputs, options for deploying new state road dollars, and a more detailed accounting of fee proposals before the May 12 hearing.